I've heard S.T.A.L.K.E.R. being likened to Deus Ex and System Shock 2
(hell, we even said as much in its early days), but after finally
playing the game I have to say that's a clumsy comparison. Where those
classic titles focused on multiple approaches to a relatively linear
storyline, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is almost the polar opposite. The storyline
is anything but linear, with dozens of side quests and a main narrative
that branches out into seven different endings. For every situation
found on these quests, there's really only one solution - blasting away
anything that stands between you and your goal. As a result, at its
glowing radioactive heart S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is still far more of a shooter
than a role player. Walk into the decrepit ghost town of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
knowing this, and you won't be disappointed.
I am
sure you already know about the story, but for those who've been
hiding in fallout shelters since April 1986, waiting for Chernobyl's
deadly clouds to hit, here's the main thrust. Set in the near future,
you play as the Marked One, a modern day Indiana Jones packing a
radiation suit and AK rather than a Fedora and bullwhip. After being flung from a truck full of decomposing corpses, you awaken
in an underground bunker-come-shop within the Zone. This Zone is a
twisted version of the Chernobyl region, damaged even further by a
chain of strange events that occurred twenty years after the original
disaster.
You awaken with a nasty case of amnesia and a mysterious message on
your PDA: "Kill Strelok". These words serve as the motivation for the
next fifteen hours of your gaming life. Who the hell is Strelok, and
why your PDA isn't his biggest fan, is unknown.
Armed with a pea-shooter, a flimsy flak jacket and a single clue about
where to find a guy who knew a guy who used to work for the cousin of
your target, you're on your way. As you emerge from the bunker, it's
immediately apparent that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. feels unlike any shooter
you've played before.
The very first thing you'll notice is that S.T.A.L.K.E.R.'s world is big. Scratch that. It's f%!*&ing huge.
RPG players, who earned their stripes playing Oblivion or Morrowind,
are used to this scale. For those of us who've cut our teeth on
Half-Life and Doom, the
feeling of no longer being shoehorned down
corridors (no matter how wide or pretty those corridors are) is a
little overwhelming. Not to mention liberating.
The real Chernobyl isn't a ghost town; it's a ghost city. The developer
has gone to great pains to replicate this eerie, abandoned place,
visiting the real world location multiple times and taking thousands of
photos. Every DNA-mutating photo shoot has paid off, resulting in the
creepiest, yet at the same time realistic, game world we've ever seen.For such a big world, it's amazing how hand-crafted everything is.
Never does it feel like the developers let an automatic level design
tool plant a tree here, or construct a building there. Everything is
considered and planned, with the result that this is a land that is
always rewarding to explore. Considering there are no vehicles, you'll
be spending a huge amount of time covering its ground. And you won't
mind a bit.
The unsettling architecture results from a unique combination of the
utilitarian, drab designs of the Communist regime, blended with twenty
years of disuse and disrepair. Everything is falling to pieces, rusted,
covered in weeds. It's also all open for exploration - if you can see
an abandoned high-rise in the distance, you can get inside it to see
what's lurking within.Considering the graphics engine has been in development since the age
of the phonograph, it holds up pretty well. Given that it emanding on PC hardware, the delay of
the game is probably a good thing. If the game had arrived on schedule
a few years ago, only NASA would have had the processing power to play
it.
The engine shines in a couple of key areas, both crucial in shaping the
game's atmosphere. It's got a huge draw distance, which leads to the
palpable feeling that this is a big world. Lighting and shadowing are
its other big strength. Everything in the game, from creatures to
window frames to trees, casts a correct shadow across the landscape.
It's adept at handling outdoor areas, but the engine also excels at
corridor-based Doomy environments. The scariest sections tend to take
place in these claustrophobic areas, where there's no escape, and the
lack of any natural light leads to dark, creature-friendly environs.
And when we say scary, we mean it. This game makes F.E.A.R. as
terrifying as The Wizard of Oz.You'll have plenty of things to do though, as there's a huge array of
quests to keep you busy. It could be retrieving a backpack, freeing a
fellow Stalker or assassinating a random stranger, but missions
generally involve killing something. To keep this interesting, there's
a healthy range of rifles and pistols, most of which can be modified
with scopes and
bullet types. The bullet modelling is very accurate -
crouching leads to less spread, and aiming down the iron sights is
highly recommended. Even bullet drop is included. So even though you
might be fighting a zombified Spetsnaz trooper or a mutant wolf, these
weapon mechanics keep the game's feet grounded in a feeling of realism.
Novice Stalkers will find the combat brutal to begin with. You'll be
taking on guys with shotguns and armour, armed only with a peashooter
and knitted sweater. Staying back, using cover, and aiming for the head
helps, but the game remains quite difficult throughout. It's a nice
change from the increasing ease we're seeing with most shooters these
days.t does get a little easier though, as you gain access to better kit.
Picking up additional equipment is where S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is most like a
traditional RPG. Food, med-packs, ammo, weapons, and armour make up the
major categories of equipment that you'll be scavenging for. Various
artefacts, created by weird anomalies that inhabit the Zone, are also
waiting to be discovered. Most of these have beneficial properties if
equipped; some make you more bullet-resistant, while others crank up
your endurance.S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is first and foremost a single player epic, but that
hasn't stopped the developer from throwing in a decent multiplayer game
as well. It's not the most original offering, with the two main modes
being deathmatch and team deathmatch, but the cluttered, dark
environments make for some tense cat and mouse gameplay, as do the
realistic weapons. A cash system, similar to CounterStrike's,
encourages strategic players. It's not the kind of online game that
will set the Net alight, but it's a decent distraction when the single
player game gets too oppressive.
So far, and so very, very good.So , play it & feel it .